Bolt - USB 3.0 GRAB Engine

NOTE: video capture is only performed with the USB 3.0 (Micro Type B) port on the Bolt RX. You cannot use the USB 2.0 (Mini Type B, 5 connector) port on the Bolt RX, as that is only used for firmware upgrades or changing device settings with Bolt Manager.

Refer to the Quick Start Guide for the location of the USB 3.0 port on your Bolt RX:

When a 2nd generation Bolt 600 or Bolt 2000 RX is connected on the USB 3.0 port, the USB LED ( to the left of the OLED display, and indicated with (N) in the Quick Start Guide) will turn on. Third generation Bolt RX units do not have status LEDs to the left of the OLED display.

Teradek’s USB 3.0 GRAB engine introduces a unique method to transmit, receive, and record video. For example the Bolt with the GRAB engine can be used as a capture card, Wirecast, or Tricaster source while adding no delay to transmission.

Today, I’ll be demonstrating the capture card function of the engine using VLC as an example capture program.

First, make sure you have the latest firmware downloaded; go to teradek.com → Support → Downloads, then choose Bolt from the drop-down menu.

Next, power on your Bolt and plug in your USB 3.0 cable to connect the Bolt to your computer.

If the current firmware on your Bolt needs to be updated, make sure to do that before continuing.

If you don’t have VLC Media Player downloaded, you can download it from VideoLAN.org

Please note that you must close any other program that uses a USB 3.0 source such as Wirecast in order for VLC to see the Bolt.

Open up VLC and then go to File → Open Capture Device

Under Input → Video, select Bolt from the drop-down Menu.

From here, you can click “Streaming/Saving” in the bottom of the window then click settings.

In this window you can choose to either stream or record the input from your Bolt.